The Green Man, by Michael Bedard

2012 Book 81: The Green Man, by Michael Bedard (5/27/2012)

Reason for Reading: LibraryThing Early Review

My Review 4/5 stars
When her father temporarily moves to Italy, O is sent to live with her reclusive aunt Emily–so that O can take care of her aunt after a heart attack, and Emily can take care of O. In her eccentric way, Emily encourages O to get in touch with her inner poet, and O helps out by cleaning up her aunt’s dusty used book shop. However, there is a deeper evil that is creeping in to town…The Green Man was a very interesting specimen since it defies genres. In some ways, it’s a psychological mystery, in others a fantasy, and in others magical realism. Its deeper message is to encourage the poets in its readers–though you don’t have to appreciate poetry to enjoy the book. I think this book would be enjoyable to adults and budding young cerebrals of ages 10-13ish.

Islands of the Blessed, by Nancy Farmer

2012 Book 79: Islands of the Blessed, by Nancy Farmer (5/18/2012)

Reason for Reading: Third, and final, book in the Sea of Trolls trilogy

My Review 3.5/4 stars
When an angry ghost arrives on the shores of Jack’s village, he, Thorgill, and the Bard must go on a dangerous voyage to pacify her spirit before she hurts anyone. Like the first two books of this series, Islands of the Blessed is packed with adventure after adventure, a vast array of creatures from Celtic, Norse, and Christian mythologies, and an engaging historical background. Like the second book, The Land of the Silver Apples, Farmer may have tried a little too hard to pack in extra adventures and creatures…this makes the book fun and entertaining, but it has the disconnected-wandering-adventures feel of Homer’s The Odyssey instead of the tight every-event-has-a-reason feel of Harry Potter. Overall, an excellent book for perhaps the 5th through 8th grades.

Exile, by Kathryn Lasky

2012 Book 76: Exile, by Kathryn Lasky (5/13/2012)

Reason for Reading: 14th book in 15 book series (almost done!!!)

My Review 3.5/4 stars
The Band is exiled from the Tree when an evil blue owl (the Striga) gizzard-washes the young King Coryn. Can The Band get rid of the Striga before it’s too late for Coryn? I was pleasantly surprised by this fourteenth installment of the Ga’Hoole series. There’s a little life left in this series after all! Like The Golden Tree (the 12th book), this installment was an allegorical critique of organized religion (this time it criticized witch hunts, censorship, and apocalypticism). I was a little disappointed at what Lasky did with the Striga’s character…he seemed so nice in The River of Wind, and since we were omniscient (and could therefore hear his thoughts) you’d think we would have noticed that he had an evil streak in him? After all, can someone go from wonderful kindness to pure evil in a period of one month? In fact, time makes no sense in Lasky’s world. But I guess that’s what I get for reading children’s fantasy. 🙂

From Darkness Won, by Jill Williamson

2012 Book 73: From Darkness Won, by Jill Williamson. (5/6/2012)

Reason for Reading: Third book in the Blood of Kings Trilogy

My Review 3/5 stars
In this final installment of the Blood of Kings trilogy, Vrell and Achan battle their adolescent romantic problems as well as the forces of evil. I was happy with the outcome of the book, but felt the story dragged a bit. Like I said in my review of the second book, To Darkness Fled, although the story is fantastic, this trilogy does not have enough plot to last three books. It could have made such a sweet standalone book! On the other hand, the characters are very well-developed and lovable (even though their adolescent vices are a tad frustrating at times). And there was a good story to it. The trilogy would appeal only to readers of Christian Fiction—the religious message gets to the point of sermonizing at a couple of points.

Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman

2012 Book 72: Odd and the Frost Giants, Neil Gaiman (5/1/2012)

Reason for Reading: It was there

My Review
Odd, a boy with a bum leg and an odd personality, runs away from home after his father dies and his mother remarries. In the forest, he finds a fox, a bear, and an eagle, whom he befriends. With these new pals, Odd recaptures Asgard from the Frost Giants. A short and sweet fairy-tale like story.

Zorgamazoo, by Robert Paul Weston

2012 Book 71: Zorgamazoo, by Robert Paul Weston (5/1/2012)

Reason for Reading: It was there

My Review 4.5/5 stars
Katrina Katrell suffers under the spiteful eye of her guardian Mrs. Krabone. When Krabby decides to get Katrina a lobotomy to get rid of her wild imagination, she runs away. She find Mortimer Yorgle, who is (unwillingly) on a quest to save the Yorgles of Zorgamazoo who have mysteriously vanished. They team up and have many fun adventures. This book is written entirely in rhyme—reminiscent of Dr. Seuss. It’s the kind of book that really ought to be read aloud. I was lucky enough to get it in audiobook form, which was VERY well read. Some of the rhymes were rather clever, and the book was lighthearted and silly. Very enjoyable!

Dave at Night, by Gail Carson Levine

2012 Book 70: Dave at Night, by Gail Carson Levine (4/30/2012)

Reason for Reading: Because it was there

My Review 3.5/5 stars
When Dave’s father dies, Dave is separated from his brother and sent to an orphanage. Dave finds a way to sneak over the wall of the orphanage and wanders the streets at night, where he meets many interesting characters (both high society and from his own social class). In his adventures at the orphanage and the streets, Dave learns a little bit about himself and what he needs in life, he grows to accept his problems and embrace his gifts. This is a sweet little book.

To Darkness Fled, by Jill Williamson

2012 Book 68: To Darkness Fled, by Jill Williamson (4/28/2012)

Reason for Reading: Second book in a trilogy

My Review 3/5 stars
In this second installment of The Blood of Kings trilogy (first book reviewed here), our heroes Achan and Vrell gather an army with the help of the Old Kingsguard Knights. The romantic tension between Achan and Vrell intensifies. I didn’t feel that this book was as good as the first. The religious message got a bit heavy-handed, and the plot barely moved forward at all. Sure, progress was made, but it was progress that was outlined by Sir Gavin as their “future plans” in the end of the first book. There were only two small plot-thickening events. On the other hand, there was much character development, and the reader becomes very familiar with the setting (i.e. which cities are where, who’s in charge of them, who’s on our side). I was also a little irked by the cliffhanger ending. I’m not a big fan of cliffhangers—I lose my patience with them quickly, especially if the entire series hasn’t been published. Luckily, this series has been published so I was able to start the third (and last) book with only a few grumblings. Despite these shortcomings, I think the story is very good, and the characters are well developed for a young adult novel. I think it may have worked out better had Williamson shortened the trilogy into ONE book, and edited out a lot of stuff. I realize editing is hard, but there’s really only enough plot for one book! Maybe the third book will thicken the plot a bit more, though. 🙂

The London Eye Mystery, by Siobhan Dowd

2012 Book 62 The London Eye Mystery, by Siobhan Dowd (4/16/2012)

Reason for Reading: Autism Awareness Month

My Review 3/5 stars

When Ted and Kat’s cousin Salim mysteriously disappears while riding the London Eye they team up to find him. Ted and Kat never got along in the past because Ted has Asperger’s Syndrome and is difficult to relate to; however, they discover that a combination of his rational thinking skills and her intuitive action makes them an ideal team. It may be because I’ve OD’d myself on Autism books this April, but I wasn’t overly impressed by this story. I don’t regret reading it–it was a cute story, and handled the issue of Ted’s Asperger’s symptoms well enough. But I didn’t feel a strong attachment to the characters. I also felt that the mystery (and the way it was solved at the very, very end) lacked verisimilitude. I understand why the frantic parents didn’t listen to what the kids had to say…but I felt that the cops should have given the kids a much more rigorous questioning, considering that the kids were the key witnesses to a rather suspicious event. I felt that the kids endangered themselves unnecessarily when trying to solve the mystery. I prefer it when books develop a plot such that the kids MUST do what they do, rather than it just being reckless behavior. But maybe that’s because I didn’t have that sort of fearless independence when I was a kid. I would have MADE the adults listen to me, instead. 🙂 But like I said, I think I’m just OD’d on fantastic Autism books right now and so this one just wasn’t what I needed at the moment. Final recommendation: read it if it’s convenient, but don’t rush out to get it.